1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to product development, and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for developing products having programmable memories encoded with software to control the product.
2. Description of the Related Art
Increased competition in the technological field is driving many developers to produce new products at a much faster pace. While the new generation of products generally tends to offer more features, they also tend to be more complex in nature. To remain competitive in the high-tech industry, developers are increasingly confronted with the challenge of shortening their development turn-around time for more complex products, while preserving quality. To meet this challenge, developers are increasingly relying on product development tools to get high-quality products to the market in a timely fashion.
Modern, high-tech products are becoming more complex in nature, partly because of the growing popularity of integrated circuits and the ease with which they can be integrated into new products. Integrated circuits, which may include several processors and programmable memories, give developers flexibility in designing innovative solutions. A processor in an integrated circuit can utilize information stored in a memory (maskable ROM or RAM, for example) to perform several functions. It is, thus, common to find integrated circuits in products such as cordless phones and radios, which utilize these circuits to implement numerous features, ranging from key scanning to displaying information on screens. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the code stored in the memory is what gives products such as cordless phones and radios their xe2x80x9cpersonality.xe2x80x9d
The conventional method of developing and testing products that have a processor and maskable memory can be a slow and time-consuming process. For example, consider the steps involved in developing a cordless phone that utilizes a processor and a ROM that must be mask programmed. A developer must first write the code. Then, the code has to be placed in the ROM by a vendor capable of fabricating maskable memories. Next, the ROM is placed inside the cordless phone, where the code is then tested. If an error is discovered, then the entire process has to be repeated until the code is error free.
It is not unusual for developers to repeat the above process several times before the final product is introduced in the market. Each discovered error can consume a considerable amount of time because the ROM has to be removed from the product (e.g. cordless phone), reprogrammed, and then reinserted into the product for another test. This method is even more cumbersome and costly when the mask programmable ROM is integrated within the same die as the processor. Thus, what is needed is a method and apparatus that allows developers to evaluate new software (or firmware) for their product in a simple, efficient, and cost-effective manner.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.
In one aspect of the present invention, a method is provided that includes providing a first mode signal to a processor to operate in a development mode. The method also includes executing instructions stored in a first region of the memory in response to the first mode signal, providing data to the processor, and writing the data into a second region of the memory.
In another aspect of the instant invention, an apparatus is provided that includes a memory having a first region containing executable instructions. The apparatus also includes a processor adapted to receive a first mode signal. The processor is capable of executing the executable instructions from the first region of the memory to operate in a development mode in response to receiving the first mode signal.